Google News
Denny Hamlin is questioning the fairness of the first pit stall advantage, especially in a championship race. The debate arose from William Byron's strong pit road performance at Phoenix, where he emerged ahead of several contenders despite not having the fastest car.
Although inconsequential in the end, had Byron held off Ryan Blaney, the championship could have been at stake right there. Hamlin further discussed this topic on the Actions Detrimental podcast. Denny Hamlin emphasized at the very start that he sees things from two perspectives.
However, Hamlin shares the opinion, like many, that the first pit stop should not provide such an advantage to the driver.
“I guess I see this both ways, but there’s a long gap between the camera at the end of pit road, and where the yellow line is, where they stop, where pit road speed ends.
Do we have to give the No. 1 pit box that much of an advantage? I’m wondering, it’s such a big race, why do you — if we had another champion decided on pit road, is that really — I mean, I guess it is a team sport.
It is. So you want to give the pit road guys a chance, and it’s up to the driver and the team to keep putting themselves in position for the pit crew to put them out first. "- Denny Hamlin said.
Denny Hamlin explains his view
Hamlin is highlighting the substantial time difference experienced during a pit stop between having the first pit stall and having a stall further down the pit lane, like the fifth stall or any stall beyond the first.
“But it’s a considerable time difference in having the No. 1 stall versus having you know, the fifth stall. Or whatever it might be”. It'll be interesting to observe if there are any changes down the road regarding these issues.
Hamlin's take on this topic really brings something different to the table and adds depth to the ongoing NASCAR discussions. Source: on3.com